NOTES
RECAP: UC Davis posted scores of 195.500 and 194.925 in two meets over the previous weekend... The Friday score of 195.500 ranks t10th in school history, and No. 3 among all-time Aggie road scores... Kyla Kessler tied the school freshman all-around record with a 39.250 at UW, matching the score she hit at home on February 5... Two days later, fellow freshman Kelley Hebert won the individual all-around with a 39.275 against Cal, and re-tied the school floor exercise record of 9.95 in the process.

A QUICK RQS 101: The regional-qualifying score, or RQS, is determined by taking the team’s (or individual’s) top six scores, of which at least three must come from road meets... The high score of that six is dropped, and the remaining five are averaged... In UC Davis’ case, the six scores in the calculation are the 196.350 (Mar. 2), 195.500 (Mar. 9), 195.150 (Feb. 2), 194.950 (Feb. 17), 194.925 (Mar. 11) and 194.525 (Feb. 9)... Thus, any subsequent score of higher than 194.525 will raise the RQS, by removing the Feb. 9 score from the equation... The top 36 teams earn team berths to the NCAA postseason, a feat the Aggies last accomplished in 2014.

RANKINGS: Thanks to both meets last weekend, UC Davis boosted its RQS by three more tenths to 195.010... This clinched the regular-season MPSF title, as no other conference team can mathematically crack the 195-point barrier with the meets remaining before the championship... Alexis Brown continues to lead the MPSF in all-around (39.155), but Hebert closed the gap by raising her RQS to 39.095... Furthermore, one more road AA score from Kessler gives her the minimum to qualify for those standings... A 39.000 for the cognitive science student would yield an RQS of 39.085, all but guaranteeing a top-five ranking in the MPSF.

REGIONAL PICTURE: The current bubble (36th) for a team berth for the NCAA Regional is held by Arizona and its 195.520 RQS... Pitt (195.440), Utah State (195.385) and North Carolina (195.300) are the next in line... UC Davis has the unusual situation of having two road meets left on the schedule, providing extra upside in raising its RQS (see above)... For example, matching their season high of 196.350 in each of the next two meets would lift the average to 195.660... Two 196.0s would yield an RQS of 195.520 – exactly UA’s current score... Tying the school record of 196.900 in each meet would elevate the Aggies’ RQS to a whopping 195.770.

UP NEXT: UC Davis heads into the second of two Causeway Cup matchups with Sacramento State, this time in a road quadrangular that also includes No. 13 Oregon State and No. 17 Arizona State... Live results will be available via StatBroadcast... Friday’s meet will complete the five Causeway Cup points up for grabs between UC Davis and Sacramento State... The first 2.5 tallies went to the Aggies in a close 194.525-194.400 battle on Feb. 9.

SACRAMENTO STATE is coming off a 195.175 in a home meet that also featured then-No. 22 Minnesota and No. 20 Cal... Senior Annie Juarez scored a second-place 9.900 on floor en route to her second-place 39.100 all-around total... OREGON STATE scored a 196.800 in its 2018 home finale to beat Michigan State by more than five full points... Junior McKenna Singley captured the all-around at 39.300, while sophomore Destinee Davis won or shared meet titles on vault (9.850), beam (9.900) and floor (9.875)... ARIZONA STATE scored 196.525 or higher in three straight meets before “slipping” to a 195.700 in a quad meet at Oklahoma last Friday... Five-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Cairo Leonard-Baker ranks 10th nationally with a 39.455 RQS... She and 2012 Olympian (France) Anne Kuhm scored 39.225 and 39.150, respectively, in last week’s meet in Norman.

HEAD COACH JOHN LAVALLEE QUOTES:
“We did a good job. We counted a fall on beam [on Sunday] and needed to score a little bit higher to keep us in the race for regionals, but for the second meet of a weekend, they really did an outstanding job. Friday night’s meet at Washington was really exciting, and they performed extremely well. Posting our third-highest road score ever was really impressive.”

“I feel like we are in good position. Even though our performance [on Sunday] wasn’t what we were hoping for, it clinches the Olympic order at the conference championships. The other teams can’t jump ahead of us. So this was a huge meet for us.”

On the NCAA regional chase: “At 195.010, we are still in the hunt. We still have a lot to play for. It will be very exciting this Friday at Sac State and then at the conference championship. There will be a lot riding on that. We’re still in line for sneaking into that top 36.”

ABOUT UC DAVIS: Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 6-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation’s best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

DON’T MISS OUT!: Season and single-game tickets for all UC Davis winter and spring sports, plus renewals for Aggie football, are now on sale by contacting the Athletics Ticket Office at (530) 752-AGS1 or by visiting us online at UCDavisAggies.com.